torque installation th350

[Ken B]

looking for confirmation....I installed my torque converter and it "clunked" multiple times and I have a 1 inch setback from the face of the trans houseing to the ears on the converter.....its all the way home right?

 

[Bextreme04]

probably... You'll know when you stick it in the truck. Check to make sure you have a gap between the torque converter and the flex plate before you tighten up the bellhousing bolts. The trans should go all the way up against the block and onto the dowels without the torque converter making contact with the flexplate. Did you already test fit the torque converter to the flywheel/crank to make sure the snout fits well in the crank and the bolt holes in the torque converter line up?

Once you stick the trans in, you need to make sure the torque converter has a 1/8-3/16" gap between the converter and the flexplate. If you have more than 3/16", you need to shim the gap with hardened washers so the flexplate will only pull out between 1/8-3/16" or you will round the nose of the torque converter off or wreck the pump gear and the transmission will be trashed. If you have less than 1/8" gap, you need to stop and re-evaluate. You either didn't seat the torque converter right, have a defective torque converter, or an incorrect flex-plate for your application. Trying to bolt it together with less than 1/8" gap can ruin the pump, torque converter, thrust plates or bushings in the transmission, and/or thrust bearing in the engine.

Edit: corrected max pullout to 3/16", not 3/8" as I had originally said

 

[Bextreme04]

If you have it all the way seated in the transmission it should have a very, very small gap between the converter and the transmission when looking at it from the bottom. If you see a gap that is enough to fit a pinky finger in, then you don't have it seated all the way. You should have about a gap big enough to fit a coin into.. barely.

 

[Ken B]

that is great information!
I am reinstalling a converter and trans it isnt a new install. Swapping out engines while redoing the truck. First time doing converter so a bit nervous. I had heard that a few clunks and an inch behind the housing .

 

[Bextreme04]

that is great information!
I am reinstalling a converter and trans it isnt a new install. Swapping out engines while redoing the truck. First time doing converter so a bit nervous. I had heard that a few clunks and an inch behind the housing .

I goofed that number... It should be between 1/8"-3/16" not 3/8". Here's a video giving a good description(with pictures!!) of the exact same thing I said in my previous posts.

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In a funny coincidence, my previous torque converter had a broken snout, so I got a non-broken used one locally for pretty cheap. It was an aftermarket unit and when I did the pull-out measurement I found it to be way too much. I had those same washers that they show in that video and ended up needing to put two washers on mine to get the correct final pull-out, just like they did.